Social Media for eCommerce
Guest blog article by Justin Butlion, Content and Social Marketing Manager of Yotpo
When it comes to building a social community around an eCommerce business, most CEO’s and marketing managers see one objective: build a large social community of people who will buy whatever you sell. Although having a large social community will usually result in more eCommerce sales, the real power of a large online community provides a benefit greater than just an increase in eCommerce sales.
Social media is often a life jacket for businesses
Social media allows you to tap into the psyche of your eCommerce target audience and understand what drives their online consumer behavior, buying habits, lifestyle and much more. The world of social commerce is moving so quickly that if you don’t have a direct feed of information output, then you are putting the your eCommerce company's survival at risk. Knowledge is power, and tapping into your social media strategy can offer your potential customers the knowledge they need, at any stage of their buying process.
Social media has become an eCommerce standard
Social media as a marketing practice has become so widespread that it is deemed an eCommerce industry standard. By meeting this basic eCommerce industry standard, you seek to increase your market share and the social relevance of your brand. Over the last 5 years, eCommerce businesses have increasingly adopted social media marketing as part of their marketing mix. By neglecting the importance of social media, then you run the risk of hurting your eCommerce business and online presence. This may not hold true for all industries, but in today’s social Internet, social media is critical for eCommerce.
When it comes to your consumer base, having a strong social presence has become a standard. Facebook and Twitter icons are household symbols, and being able to communicate with a brand via its social profiles has become second nature to consumers. If you are in an industry which has wide social media adoption (i.e. the clothing/apparel industry), then you can bet that your social media presence is vital to the relationship you forge with your social community. Visitors and fans of the brand use social media as a communication channel and the lifeblood of connection with the brand. Consumers that can't access a brand via social media may jump ship.
Take part in the ongoing conversation
Everyday, hundreds of millions of people are tweeting, posting, and commenting about the multitude of eCommerce brands in the world. Some of these tweets, posts and comments are probably about your brand and guess what, there isn’t much you can do about this fact. People will continue to communicate about things which have meaning to them, and thanks to the social media revolution, for the first time in history, brands no longer have control over what is said about their products, in the digital world.
Companies have two choices: they can either choose to take part in the conversation or to ignore the conversation. The right choice is to take part in the conversation so that you don’t lose complete control over how your brand is communicated to the rest of the world. The smart marketers first listen and then respond to the chatter about their brands. Marketers can learn the common language that the everyday consumer uses to describe their brands, and use it in their own marketing activities.
Conclusion
Using social media to build a strong online community is a great way to strengthen your eCommerce business. Social media can increase your eCommerce profitability thanks to the increase in word of mouth marketing, but also by opening up numerous channels for gathering information and for communicating with the people that count most: your customers.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this post and where social media is heading, especially for eCommerce sites. Leave your thoughts and comments in the comments section below.
ABOUT JUSTIN BUTLION
Justin Butlion is the Content and Social Marketing Manager of Yotpo. He loves to blog about eCommerce, online marketing, web development and entrepreneurship. Check out his latest posts on the Yotpo blog.
